Minghua (ship)
 The Minghua as a hotel ship in Shenzhen, April 2016
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The Minghua (officially registered as Ming Hua ) is a Chinese passenger ship that has been moored in Shenzhen as a hotel ship since 1986 . It was built as the Ancerville in 1962 , sold to China in 1973 and remained in active service there until 1983. The Minghua is one of the last existing liner ships.
history
Service as Ancerville
The Ancerville was built under construction number M21 at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire and launched on April 5, 1962. The ship's godfather was the then French President Charles de Gaulle . On August 20, 1962, the delivery to the French Compagnie de Navigation Paquet took place. The Ancerville , designed in the style of a yacht , was by far the largest unit of the shipping company, which otherwise only owned three other ships with less than 10,000 GRT .
The ship was put into service on September 5, 1962 for the line service from Marseille to Dakar . The Ancerville had a capacity of 770 passengers in three classes. The division of the passenger areas was a novelty: while all cabins were in the front part of the superstructure, the public rooms were located in the rear part. The only exceptions were the ship's chapel and theater, which were also located in the front part of the superstructure.
In 1970 the Ancerville became the property of the Nouvelle Compagnie de Paquebots and was henceforth used for cruises to the Canary Islands . In July 1970, she rescued the passengers and crew of the Costa Crociere- owned Fulvia , which caught fire during a cruise and then sank.
Service as Minghua
In April 1973 the Ancerville was sold to the Chinese shipping company China Ocean Shipping Company and renamed Minghua . After the ship was previously used exclusively in Chinese waters, it was used from 1979 under the charter of Asian Pacific Cruises for cruises off Australia with Sydney as the port of departure. It also made cruises to Hawaii and destinations in Asia .
The cruises to Australia proved so unprofitable that the Minghua had to be retired in May 1983. Instead, she was brought to her home port of Shenzhen in 1986 . There it was converted into a hotel ship. The lifeboats and davits were removed and numerous new windows were cut into the side walls.
Use as a hotel ship
The Minghua is part of a theme park known as Shekou Sea World . It is equipped with 253 hotel rooms and also has several restaurants with international cuisine, bars, shops and a festival hall for events. The pool on the deck of the ship is also used to this day.
As a special feature, the ship is completely surrounded by land and is located in the middle of the city. When he arrived, the neighboring park did not yet exist. It was only created as a hotel ship after the opening of the Minghua by means of earthworks on the former harbor basin.
In 1998 the theme park was temporarily closed due to financial difficulties and a fire on board the ship. However, after renovation work and a change of ownership, the Minghua was reopened in December 2004. In June 2007, the facility was severely damaged by a four-meter high tidal wave, and the renovation work continued until 2009.
The Minghua is still one of the city's greatest attractions. She is also meanwhile one of the last surviving liner ships.
Web links
- the ship on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
- History of the ship on ssmaritime.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Reuben Goossens: MS Ancerville. Retrieved May 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Rosemary Fan: Minghua ship to be unveiled soon. August 6, 2004, accessed May 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Martin Cox: MV MINGHUA Lives On. August 28, 2010, accessed May 15, 2016 .